flare of brilliance temporarily blinded the screaming teen. A figure stood in the open doorway, a silhouette clutching a powerful Mag light the kind used by cops and firemen. Then the light shifted away and Ronny saw who it was. Clark Smeltzer.
'Oh, God,' he babbled, a mixture of terror and relief. 'Mr. Smeltzer, pull me up. There's something down there!'
The caretaker crossed the shed floor in four quick strides and glowered down at Ron. His face seemed drawn and haggard, and his eyes were red.
'Hey, man,' Ronny pleaded. 'Pull me up! Please?'
'I know you. You're the one that beat up my boy a few times. Made me whip him myself, just so he'd go back out and whip you.'
Ronny clutched the dirt floor, holding on for dear life. 'Pull me up, man.'
'You're trespassing.'
'Mr. Smeltzer, there's something down here. Pull'
'You shouldn't a come here, boy.'
'What'
Clark raised one booted foot and stamped on Ronny's left hand. Bones snapped beneath his heel. The horrified teenager screamed. Then he stamped on the boy' s other hand, pulverizing his fingers.
Ronny fell into the darkness, a look of disbelief in his eyes. He landed with a thud. The ghoul roared in triumph. Its claws descended. It tore into the teenager like a buzz saw through wood.
Clark turned away from the ripping and tearing sounds, and threw up on a pile of tiny American flags. While the screaming continued, he fetched his bottle of Wild Turkey from its hiding place and washed the taste of puke from his mouth. The screaming stopped, but the sounds of slaughter continued. Clark tipped the bottle up and drained it, gasping as alcohol dribbled down his whiskered cheeks and chin. He tried to pretend he wasn' t crying, and told himself the tears were from guilt rather than just fear.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (a cliche Clark heard people use in movies all the time, but in this case, it happened to be true) the sounds stopped, and the ghoul crawled out of the charnel pit. Its white skin was streaked with blood and gore, and bits of skin and fabric hung from its claws.
Clark silently wished for another bottle, if only to wash the image from his mind. He' d drunk more than ever these last few weeks, walking around as if with alcoholinduced amnesia. Another lie he told himself, because deep down inside, he remembered everything.
Every detail. Every scream.
The ghoul handed him three wallets. Two were made of black leather; one with the initials vh and the other with kill ' em all. The third wallet was red plastic and stamped made in Taiwan. He didn 't even bother to look inside them; just stuffed them in his pockets.
'That it?'
'They had no other valuables. No trinkets or baubles. Such things are wasted on the youth. Did you know the boy?'
Clark shrugged. 'Seen him around. He tussled with my own boy a time or two.'
'Indeed?'
'Yeah.' Clark ran a hand through his greasy hair. 'Him and his two friends. The three of them against my boy and his two pals. They down there, too?' The ghoul nodded. 'You hold their coin purses in your hand.'
'What about the bodies? You need me to, uh… get rid of them?'
'No need for you to dispose of their corpses. Let them ripen. In a few days they will be like sweet fruit on the vine. Then I can feast, in accordance with the Law set forth by Him.'
'What do you mean?'
'My kind is forbidden to eat warm flesh or drink hot blood. We must wait.' The creature wiped its mouth with the back of its hand.
'However,' it continued, 'I had a little taste just now. Just a little, as I killed them. Something to whet my appetite.'
Clark gagged, and fought to keep from throwing up again.
'You did well,' the ghoul said. 'What brings you here at night? Were you attracted by these trespassers, or do you have another for me?'
Clark swallowed the lump in his throat. The creature's raspy voice gave him the creeps. Hell, the whole damn thing gave him the creeps.
'I got another. Outside. We got to be quick. I don't want anyone to see me. Would be hard pressed to explain what I'm doing out here this time of night.'
'But you are the caretaker. You are in charge of this necropolis. Who better to stalk its grounds late at night?'
'Necro what?'
'Never mind.' The ghoul dismissed the question with a wave of its hand. 'Show me what you have brought. I can smell it from here.'
They walked outside. Clark had parked his car next to the utility shed. The lights and motor were off. A muffled thump echoed from inside the trunk. He fumbled for his keys, realized they were still hanging from the shed door, and retrieved them. His hands shook so badly that he had trouble sliding the key into the trunk lock. On the third try, the key slipped in. He turned it, and the trunk sprang open.
The ghoul sighed with rapture. 'Excellent. You have done well.' A terrified young woman stared up at them, eyes bulging from her sockets, big hair plastered to her scalp in a mix of sweat and blood. She screamed around the dirty rag that had been stuffed into her mouth and then secured with a strip of duct tape. More silver duct tape bound her wrists and ankles together. The ghoul cocked its head and studied the woman with obvious appreciation. Its long black tongue slithered across its lips. 'She is a pretty one, like a fresh plucked flower. Do you know her?'
Clark nodded reluctantly. 'Deb Lentz. Her aunt's buried here. Found her earlier, on my way home from the bar. She had a flat tire, on the back road down near the Porter' s Siding Sawmill. I gave her a ride. Nobody saw. There 's nobody else on the road this time of night.'
'You have done well, indeed. Tomorrow, you shall find more spoils.'
'More than the normal stuff, right? I mean, this is kidnapping. Ain't like I'm just covering up for you anymore. Shit's getting hairy.'
The ghoul laughed. 'Yes, yes. More than your usual payment. These grounds are rich in plunder. I shall see to it that you are paid handsomely. Now, away with you. I must take my new bride below.'
Clark hesitated, his reactions slowed by the alcohol in his system. The ghoul reached for the woman in the trunk, and she cringed. She tried to scream again, but all that came out around the gag were choking sounds. Snot bubbled from her nose. Her eyes were so wide that Clark thought they might pop. Hissing, the creature traced one talon along her creased forehead. She shuddered at the hideous caress, and then her bladder failed. Clark winced at the stench.
'Goddamn it,' he slurred. 'Now I got to clean the trunk out, or else somebody will smell it and start wondering what happened.'
The ghoul ignored him. It reached into the trunk again and extracted the squirming woman. Flinging her over one shoulder, it started back toward the shed. The terrified woman made squealing sounds.
'There now,' it whispered almost lovingly. 'You will not be harmed. I have other intentions for you. I fear that I may be the last of my kind. You will aid me with that, just as my other wife has been.'
Deb Lentz went limp and slumped over his shoulder, mercifully unconscious. Clark didn' t watch it return to the tunnels. After it was gone, he shut the shed door and locked it tight. The breeze rustled through the tree limbs over the building. Dead leaves danced in the wind, forming mini dervishes. The air felt electric and held the sharp tang of ozone. The hair on his arms and what little remained on his head both stood up. Static crackled. A storm was coming, that much was for sure.
Clark had done some bad things in his life. He knew that he wasn't going to win any awards for Father or Husband of the Year. He' d done bad things. Killed people in Vietnam some who'd deserved it and some who hadn't. He'd cheated folks, stolen money. Lied.
Been unfaithful to his wife. But he'd never done anything like he had tonight. Kidnapping a woman from the
